Apparatus for removing circumferential sealing bands from cans



Sept. 16, 1958 E. J. \BRASSEUR 2,852,156 APPARATUS FOR REMOVINGCIRCUMFERENTIAL SEALING BANDS FROM CANS Filed Sept. 18, 1956 2Sheets-Sheet l a 85 C 5-6.1. 6 7 5a 12 so 96 64 i 3 60 2 98 aa IINVENTOR. [em/557$ 58455508 YWW E. J. BRAssEuR 2,852 APPARATUS FORREMOVING CIRCUMFERENTIAL SEALING BANDS FROM CANS 2 Sheets-Shes INVENTOR.e/vsr../. eeysssz/e w w 6 I. 4 w

' Sept. 16, 1958 Filed Sept. 18, 1956 United States Patent 0.

APPARATUS FOR REMOVING CIRCUMFEREN- TIAL SEALING BANDS FROM CANS ErnestJ. Brasseur, Los Angeles, Calif. Application September 18, 1956, SerialNo. 610,592

8 Claims. ((31. 220-52) This invention relates to devices for freeing alid from V a can having the lid fixed to it by a circumferential sealingband, and more particularly to means operable to remove a sealing bandofany width from a can without the necessity of using a separate keynormally distributed with such cans for that purpose.

The use of separate keys to remove circumferential sealing bands fromcans is accompanied by several disadvantages. In the first place, usinga separate key can be rather hazardous. In fact, it is not uncommon fora person using a key to cut himself very badly with a ribbon if itbecomes accidentally unwound from the key either during the time theband is being removed or after the band has been removed from the can.Moreover, a seal-- ing band or ribbon often breaks before it iscompletely removed. In this case, the remaining portion of the ribbon onthe can may generally be removed from it, if at all, only at the expenseof great deal of time and eifort under hazardous conditions.

It is also a current practice to distribute keys separately from the canwith which they are to be employed. This means that the keys can easilybecome lost, and opening the cans may again be an extremely troublesometask. Furthermore, even when keys are available, they are difficult tomanage and time consuming to use. Thus, the use of separate keys toremove sealing bands presents several pressing problems.

Some attempts have been made in the past to overcome some of theseproblems. For example, one device disclosed in the prior art forremoving such bands without a separate key includes the use of a forkedshaft having a slot to receive a free end of a sealing band. The freeend of the band is thus positioned in the slot and the band wound aroundthe shaft off of the can. The free end is threaded through the slot andsecured to the shaft by the same type of lapping arrangement which isproduced by the use of a separate key having a slotted shank portionfixed to a handle portion.

The use of the forked configuration employed to bind the free end of thesealing band to the shaft makes it imperative that the shaft berelatively small in diameter. This, for the reason that all cans aremade with sealing bands having free ends of a size to be used withseparate keys having shank portions of relatively small diameters. It isundesirable, and even unnecessary, from the manufacturers viewpoint tomake the free ends unduly long, since it is not only a waste ofmaterial, but it can also make the removal of a sealing band difiicultby unreasonably decreasing the mechanical advantage obtainable with akey of a given transverse handle length. Furthermore, unusually long keyhandles are no more easily manipulated than unusually short ones.

Thus, as a practical matter, the free ends of sealing bands are usuallyrather short, and the forked shaft used in the above-described prior artdevice must, of necessity, be rather small in diameter. As a result, theprior art device has not achieved any substantial measure of success fortwo reasons. In the first place, if the forked 2,852,156 Patented Sept.16, 1958 shaft is made small enough to accommodate the shortest free endof a sealing band of a minimum width, and the sealing band is positionedon the side of the can only a minimum distance from a lid to be freed,the shaft will ordinarly be much too weak to wind a band having a ratherlong free end of a minimum width, and being positioned on the side of acan a maximum distance from a lid to be freed.

Secondly, but probably the most important disadvantage of the use'of aforked shaft having a relatively small diameter, is the fact that whenthe shaft does have such a small diameter, after a sealing band has beenwound around the shaft, it will freeze to the shaft, i. e., it will notuncoil or spring loose. Hence, considerable difiiculty is encountered inremoving the band from the shaft. In addition, this task is alsohazardous. It is of course necessary to remove the band from the shaftin order that the apparatus may be used over and over again. However, byvirtue of the fact that the band is diflicult and hazardous to removefrom the shaft, the prior art device actually does not solve several ofthe problems related to the simple manipulation of the single andseparate key; namely, it is not safe; it is often difiicult to manage;and it may require a considerable amount of time to operate.

Moreover, a sealing band may break and leave a ragged edge so short thatit cannot be secured to the forked shaft.

The present invention overcomes these-and other disadvantages of theprior art by providing in apparatus for cooperation with the free end ofa circumferential sealing band on a can for removing the band to free alid from one end of the can, the arrangement including means in a firstplane to seat against the lid of the can; an elongated body having alongitudinal axis extending substantially perpendicularly to said plane,the body including two jaws at least on the side of the seat meansadjacent the can to grip the free end of the band in a second planeperpendicular to the first plane, at least one of the jaws being movabletoward and away from the other; retention means for maintaining the bodyin a substantially fixed axial, but rotatable angular position withrespect to the seat means along the side of the can; lock means operableto maintain the jaws in fixed positions relative to each other when theyare moved into clamping engagement with the free end of the band; rotarymeans for turning the body to peel the band off of the can; and stopmeans fixed to the seat means for abutment against the periphery of thecan to oppose the tendency of the can to rotate about the body andthereby to slide off of the seat in response to the rotation of thebody.

According to a preferred arrangement, the seat means includes simply abase member or fiat horizontal plate to support the can upside down onits lid. The base member may be fixed to a wall or secured byappropriate bracket means to a wall, as is the common practice for suchdevices. The winding or rotary means may also include a winding armfixed to the elongated or winding body to obtain considerable mechanicaladvantage. Hence, the device in the invention is safe because it isunnecessary for the operator to have his hands near the band or ribbonas it is being wound ofi of the can.

According to a feature of the invention, the elongated winding body ismade sufliciently large in diameter to cause the sealing band to springoutwardly of it when the gripping jaws are moved to release the free endof the band, whereby the band may be easily removed from the windingbody after it has been wound off of the can. Thus, the invention is muchsafer to operate than the above-described prior ,art device.

According to another feature of the invention, the Winding body isprovided with a longitudinal slot adjacent the outer edges of the jaws,the slot and the jaws both having length sufiiciently large to receivefree ends of the sealing bands having widely difierent widths. Hence,the device of the invention may be employed to remove sealing bands fromcans having sealing band dimensions and positions falling withinsubstantially any finite range, this for the reason that separate means,viz. jaws, are provided to secure the free end of the ribbon to theelongated winding body and that the winding body may therefore be madeas large as necessary without regard to the length of the free end ofthe ribbon, whereas this is impossible in the prior art device, asexplained above. Hence, the use of the jaws has two advantages. Itpermits the use of an elongated winding body having a diameter as largeas necessary both to cause a ribbon wound thereon to spring outwardly ofit after it is wound oif of a can, and to permit winding both small andlarge ribbons, strength being the requirement in the second case wherethe bending movement may be large.

It can also be seen that, by using the above mentioned jaws, the freeend of a broken ribbon may still be easily tightly secured to thewinding body, even though very little of a ragged end of a ribbon mayremain, whereas this would be impossible with the use of the prior artdevice.

Furthermore the invention overcomes the abovedescribed and many otherproblems associated with the use of a single and separate key, viz. itcan be easily and quickly operated without the use of a key. Thus, theloss of a key presents no special problem. In addition, the device ofthe invention may be made with a minimum numberof component parts, allof which may be easily and economically fabricated and only one of whichis preferably die cast.

According to a specific feature of the invention, the retention, lock,and rotary means mentioned above are preferably disposed on the side ofthe seat means opposite that on which the can is positioned, and thejaws preferably extend the complete portion of the length of the windingbody from the seat means along the side of the can to the end of thewinding body, the space between the jaws at their mutually adjacent endsspaced from the seat means being opened, whereby the sealing band may belifted axially off of the winding body after the band has been wound onto it off of the can.

In accordance with another feature of the invention, the winding body ispreferably made cylindrical in shape and has a diameter equal to onehalfinch, whereby the winding body may be easily operated, has sufficientstrength, and will be sufficiently large in diameter to efiiciently windsealing bands off of all cans that are currently commercially made.

The invention also contemplates the use of a specific arrangement tomake manual operation of the ribbon gripping jaws easy and convenient.This arrangement ineludes rotary means comprising a first arm fixed toone of the jaws in a position to rotate in a third plane spaced from,but parallel to, the above-mentioned first plane, and a handle having anaxis perpendicular to the first plane but spaced a distance from theaxis of the winding body several times the diameter of the winding body,whereby considerable leverage may be obtained to rotate the winding bodyto peel the sealing band from the can, and lock means including a secondarm fixed to the other of said jaws in a position to rotate in a fourthplane adjacent the first arm, the fourth plane also being parallel tothe first and second planes, and means operable to fix the first andsecond arms together, the jaws being in their operative clampingpositions in engagement with the free end of the sealing band when thefirst and second arms are clamped together, the second arm extendingradially from the axis of the winding body a distance several times thediameter of the winding body, whereby considerableleverage may-beobtained'to move said. one.

4 jaw with respect to the other to clamp the free end of the sealingband between them.

According to a specific aspect of the invention the means to fix thefirst or second arms together may include a plate, or threaded studfixed perpendicular to the plate and extending through one of the arms,a wing nut on the other end of the stud, the other of said arms beingfixed to a corresponding jaw in a position to travel in between said oneof said arms and said plate.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the handle may havea uniform cross-section, the plate may be cut away to conform to theshape of a handle and may be positioned adjacent the handle, the handlethereby keeping the plate and the stud from rotating with respect tosaid one arm, whereby the wing nut may be operated to clamp said otherarm between said one arm and said plate.

The use of special jaw means is also contemplated in accordance with theinvention to grip the free end of a sealing band securely, Thisarrangement may include a winding body comprising a hollow cylinderhaving a slot through it extending fro-m the seat means to its endadjacent the can, each jaw, both of which may be included in the windingbody, being an elongated member having a circular sector cross-section,each of the jaws being positioned within the hollow cylinder with theapex of each substantially in line with the axis of the lining body, oneof the jaws being fixed to the cylinder in a position circumferentiallyspaced from the slot, the other of the jaws being movable with respectto the cylinder, the jaws having cross-sections of a size to permit saidone jaw to be rotated to a position to permit the free end of a sealingband to be inserted through the slot into the interior of the cylinderbetween the jaws.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide apparatus forremoving the sealing band from a can, which apparatus may be operatedsafely, easily and quickly.

It is another object of the invention to provide apparams for removingthe sealing band from a can, which apparatus may be made of a smallnumber of inexpensive parts.

It is still another object of the invention to provide apparatus whichmay be employed to remove broken sealing bands from cans in spite of thefact that the bands may have only relatively short free ends.

A further object of the invention is to provide apparatus for removingthe sealing band from a can Without a separate key.

A still further object of the invention is to provide means in apparatusfor removing sealing bands from cans for fixing the free end of asealing band securely to a winding body.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide apparatus for removingsealing bands of all sizes from cans so equipped.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a special windingbody in apparatus employed to remove sealing bands from cans, thewinding body being constructed in a manner to permit rapid and easyremoval of a sealing band wound on it.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will bebetter understood when considered with the following description takenin connection with the accompanying drawings made a part of thisspecification, wherein an embodiment is illustrated by way of example.The device of the present invention is by no means limited 'to thespecific embodiment illustrated in the draw ings since it is shownmerely for purposes of description.

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of one embodiment of the device of thepresent invention;

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of the device;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the device;

Fig. 4 is a broken away sectional view of the working mechanism of thedevice shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3;

Fig. 5 is a partialsectional view of the deviceillnstratr 1 ingtheoperation of a pair of arms employed toset the jaws in a winding bodyshown in Figs. 1 through 4;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view of the winding body taken on line 66 shown inFig. 4;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view of a different portion of the winding bodytaken on line 77 shown in Fig. 4;

Fig. 8 is a transverse sectional view of the winding body taken on aline 88 shown in Fig. 4;

Fig. 9 is a sectional view of a transverse section of the winding bodyshowing the jaws'therein in their operative clamping positions on thefree end of a circumferential sealing band of a can;

Fig. 10 is a transverse sectional view of axial retaining means for acylinder mounted internally of the winding body to which a movable jawis fixed;

Fig. 11 is a sectional view of a forked shaft employed in the prior artshowing how a sealing band will freeze to it; and

Fig. 12 is a sectional view of a winding shaft constructed in accordancewith the invention showing how a sealing band will not freeze to it.

In the drawings in Fig. l, a can 10 having a sealing band 12 to free alid 14 is shown, the sealing band 12 having a free end 16 as bettershown in Figs. 3, 4, 6, 8, and 9. The can 10 is mounted upside down on abase member 18 which may be a substantially flat plate having asupporting web 20 fixed to a mounting plate 22 and a bracket 24. Themounting plate 22 may be fixed to a wall indicated at 26 by screws orother convenient means, or may be mounted in wedge-shaped brackets whichare commonly used for that purpose, but which are not shown.

Bracket 24 is provided with a U-shaped configuration to axially align awinding body 28 through apertures 30 and 32 extending through parallelleg portions thereof. Base member 18 is also provided with an aperture34 in register with apertures 30 to permit the passage of a winding body28 upwardly therethrough extending along the side of can 10.

Winding body 28 comprises an external member 36 and internal member 38.Both members 36 and 38 are substantially cylindrical in shape but varyin cross-section at different positions along their lengths. Member 36is substantially cylindrical in shape and includes what may beconsidered a perfect cylinder 40 throughout its length except for .alower end portion 42 which only extends 180 about the lower portion ofthe member 38. The member 42 can be seen only in Figs. 4 and 10.Cylinder 40 is substantially perfect except for the semicircular portion42 below base member 18. Above base member 18, cylinder 40 is providedwith a longitudinal slot 44 which can be seen only in Figs. 3, 4, 8 and9.

A jaw 46 is mounted within cylinder 40 and is preferably made anintegral part of it, jaw 46 having a circular sector shapedcross-section. The apex of the wedge shape of jaw 46 is then alignedsubstantially with the axis of winding body 28.

Member 38 comprises substantially a solid cylinder 48 having a jaw 50connected to its upper end or, as shown, preferably fabricatedintegrally with it. The jaw 50 extends substantially the same distanceupwardly of the member 38 as jaw 46 is fabricated integrally withcylinder 40. That is, jaw 50 extends substantially from base member 18upwardly to the upward end of body 28. Jaw 50 is also wedge shapedalthough one of jaws 46 or 50 may have a circular sector shapedcross-section of an angular spread greater than 180 degrees. Cylinder 48extends downwardly from base member 18 and is rotatable within cylinder40 to substantially the lower end of body 28. Cylinder 48 is providedwith a circumferential groove 52 to receive a semicircular washer 54against which a lower end portion 56 of cylinder 40 bears and which aprojection 58 on a winding arm 60 engages. Cylinder 48 is cut away atits lower end at 62 to project through a somewhat rectangularly shapedaperture 64 of ,6 I a jaw operating arm 66. The lower end of cylinder 48is reduced in diameter and provided with a threaded pro jection 68 ontowhich a nut 70 is threaded to maintain jaw operation arm 66 in position,a washer 72 being inserted between nut 70 and arm 66. Preferably a surface 74 against which arm 66 rests near the lower end of cylinder 44 ispreferably but not necessarily closer to a surface 76 at the lower endof cylinder 48 than the thickness of jaw operating arm 66, whereby arm66 may be fixed securely to the lower end of cylinder 48.

Body 28 is prevented from slipping through aperture 34 in base member18, and apertures 30 and 32 in bracket 24, by means of a cylindricalstop 78 through which a set screw 80 is threaded to engage cylinder 40of member 36. This can best be seen in Fig. 1. Bracket 24 is there shownprovided with arms 82 and 84, stop 78 engaging arm 84. An upper surface86 of winding arm 60 also bears against bracket arm 84 to preventvmember 36 from sliding upwardly out of apertures 30, 32 and 34. Windingarm 60 is then fixed to the other cylinder 40 of member 36 by means of aset screw 88.

It is to be noted that member 36 is rotatably mounted through basemember 18 and can be rotated with respect thereto simply by rotation ofwinding arm 60.

Member 38 is also rotatably mounted with respect to both base member 18and member 36. The only stop which limits rotation of member 38 withrespect to member 36 are the cooperation of the faces of jaws 46 and 50as indicated in Figs. 3, 8 and 9.

Member 38 is maintained in a fixed axial position by means of splitwasher or ring 54. Ring 54 cannot move either upwardly or downwardlybecause cylinder 40 is maintained in a fixed axial position and windingarm 46 is maintained in a fixed axial position by cylinder 40 by meansof set screw 88. Axial movement of ring 54 is prevented by its positionbetween the end 56 of cylinder 40 and the projection 58 on winding arm60. Ring 54 has a width sufiiciently large also to extend into thegroove 52 of cylinder 48 at least a distance around it somewhat lessthan 180 degrees. Thus, cylinder 48 cannot move axially within cylinder40, and mem-.

ber 38 is maintained in a fixed axial but rotatable angular position.

As shown in Figs. 8 and 9, it is to be noted that jaw 46 is madeintegrally with cylinder 40 but spaced from slot 44 so that particularcrimping means may be provided for the free end 16 of sealing band orribbon 12. In all the figures except Fig. 9 the jaws 46 and 50 are shownin their respective operative clamping or gripping positions againstfree end 16. In Fig. 9 the position of jaw 50 is shown with jawoperating arm 66 in the position shown in solid lines in Fig. 5. Jawoperating arm' 66 is then rotated to a position shown in dotted linesand indicated at 90 in Fig. 5 and shown in the same position in all theother figures. In this position, jaw 50 is in the position shown in Fig.8. Thus, by inserting free end 16 in the position shown in Fig. 9 andmoving arm 66 toward arm 60 to the position 90, free end 16 may becrimped in the manner shown in Fig. 8. This means that the apparatus isset to wind ribbon 12 off of can 10. However, it is necessary to fix'the position of arm 66 with respect to arm 60 in order that jaw 50 willnot rotate back to the position shown in Fig. 9 and free the free end 16of ribbon 12.

Arm 66 is in fact clamped to arm 60 by means of an arrangement includinga threaded stud 92 fixed to a plate 94 to clamp arm 66 to the undersideof arm 66. The

upper end of stud 92 is provided with a wing nut 96,.

which may be manually operated to clamp arm 66 to arm 60. The washer 98is then disposed between the upper surface of arm 60 and wing nut 96.

Preferably stop means indicated at 99 are provided on arm 66 to engagestud 92 so that free end 16 will not be mashed too tightly to weaken itwhen it is in the position shown in Fig. 8.

An upwardly extendingprojection 97 is. also preferably provided on jawoperating arm 66 so that it maybe more easily operated.

A handle 95 is then fixed downwardly from winding arm 60 so that it maybe more easily rotated. It is to be noted that plate 94 is cut away at93 to conform to the cylindrical configuration of handle 95 so that itwill not rotate with wing nut 96 when jaw operating arm 66 is beingclamped to winding arm 60.

Stop means 91 is also fixed to base member 18 to cause the can to rotateabout its symmetrical axis and to prevent it from sliding off basemember 18 as ribbon 12 is removed from can 10.

In the operation of the embodiment of the invention shown in thedrawings, wing nut 96 is first unscrewed to free jaw operating arm 66from winding arm 60. Arm 66 is then rotated to the position shown inFig. to rotate jaw 50 to the position shown in Fig. 9. Winding arm 60 isthen rotated to present slot 44 to the free end 16 of ribbon 12. Freeend 16 is then inserted into the slot in between the jaws 50 and 46 andjaw operating arm 66 is rotated to rotate jaw 50 to the position shownin Fig. 8 to crimp the free end 16 of ribbon 12 in the manner thereshown. By rotating arm 66 to this position, stop 99 will then engagestud 92 and wing nut 96 may be screwed on to stud 92 to cause plate 94to clamp arm 66 to arm 60, plate 94 conforming to the configuration ofhandle 95 to prevent both it and stud 92 from rotating. After arm 66 hasbeen clamped to arm 60, handle 95 may be grasped and arm 60 may beturned in a counter-clockwise direction as indicated at arrow 89 in Fig.3. Ribbon 12 will then be wound on to body 28.

After the band has been wound on winding body 28, wing nut 96 isloosened and jaw operating arm 66 freed from winding arm 60. Arm 66 isthen rotated to place jaw 50 again in the position shown in Fig. 9. Inthis case, the band 12 will spiral loose from the winding body 28because it may be made suificiently large to cause it to spiral loose.It has been found in the construction of the invention that the smallerthe width of ribbon 12-, the greater tendency it has to freeze tightlyaround body 28. However, by using body-28 with a diameter of aboutone-half inch, it is generally possible to unwind ribbons of widths usedon substantially any can sold commercially. The ribbon is simply slippedupwardly over the upper end of Winding body 28 and disposed of. Theapparatus is then ready to be operated to remove another ribbon fromanother can.

It can be seen that both the operation of the apparatus and in theremoval of the sealing hand, no substantial hazard is involved. The useof jaws 46 and 50 then permits winding body 28 to be sufficiently largein diameter both for the purposes of strength and to cause the ribbon 12to spring outwardly of it when the ribbon has been completely removedfrom the can 10. By using the special configuration of the jaws 46 and50 in relation to the cylinder 40 having the slot 44, it can also beseen from Fig. 8 that the free end 16 of ribbon 12 may be crimped andgripped securely within winding body 28. It is also to be noted that ifribbon 12 should tear during the operation of removing it from the can,a small, ragged free end of the ribbon may easily be threaded throughslot 44 between jaws 46 and 50 and be gripped therebetween by movementof arm 66 toward arm in the position shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. It is tobe noted that preferably slot 44 extends substantially all the way frombase member 18, as shown in Fig. 4, to the top of cylinder 40. This ispreferable for two reasons. In the first place, this means thatregardless of the position of ribbon 12 on can 10 near lid 14, jaws 46and 50 may be operated to fix the free end 16 of ribbon 12 securely towinding member 28. The extended length of winding member 28 above basemember 18 also permits securing free ends of ribbons of substantially.any size. Still fur- 8 ther,.the fact that slot 44 is open at the upp r.end of winding body 28 makes it a simple matter to remove ribbon 12after it has been wound on winding body 28.

In Fig. 11, a forked shaft 87 employed in the prior art is shown havinga ribbon wound about it. It is to be noted that the ribbon issubstantially frozen to the shaft 87. In Fig. 12, winding body 28 isshown with ribbon 12 around it in a substantially loose positionafterjaw St has been moved to the same position as indicated in Fig. 9.In this position, ribbon 12 may easily be lifted off the upper end ofwinding body 28.

It is further seen that the device of the invention is easily andquickly operated. In addition, it may be made with a minimum number ofcomponent parts, all of which may be easily and economically fabricated.Preferably, only winding arm 60 is die cast.

It is to be noted that considerable mechanical advantage is provided bywinding arm 60 since it extends preferably several times the radius ordiameter from the symmetrical axis of winding body 28. In addition,considerable mechanical advantage is also obtained to move jaw 50 inclamping engagement with jaw 46 to retain the free end 16 of ribbon 12between them internally of winding body 28. This is obtained by alsomaking jaw operating arm 66 of a length several times the radius ordiameter of winding body 28. Arm 66 may be easily operated simply bygrasping arm 60 with one hand and grasping arm 66 with the other, andtwisting them together with a very small force. Such a mechanicaladvantage is, in fact, created that the arms 60 and 66 may be pushedtogether with the free end 16 inserted between jaws 46 and 50 withoutany substantial effort.

It is to be further noted that means to clamp arm 66 to arm 60 isconveniently operable. It is to be noted that arm 66 may be located overthe top of arm 60 if. that is desirable. However, it is to be noted thatthe weight of plate 94 tends to keep it at its lower extreme positiondependable on the position of screw 96 relative to stud 92. This meansthat arm 66 may easily be moved into the space between arm 60 and plate94' while it is turned off of stud 92 a substantial distance. It is alsoto be noted that by virtue of the fact that plate 94 conforms to theshape of handle 95, no slippage can result between stud 92, plate 94, orarm 60. This means that when wing nut 96 is screwed down on to stud 92,there must be positive movement of plate 94 toward arm 60 to clamp arm66 between plate 94 and arm 60.

Although only one specific embodiment of the invention has beenillustrated and described, it will be noted that many changes andmodifications thereof will be obvious to and may be made by thoseskilled in the art, since the true scope of the invention is definedonly in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In apparatus for cooperation with a free end of a sealing band on acan for removing the band to free a lid from one end of the can, thecombination comprising: a base member to support the can upside down onits lid in a first horizontal plane; cylindrical jaw means rotatablymounted through said base member, said jaw means having upper and lowerends, and having an axis extending substantially perpendicularly to saidplane; said jaw means including a hollow cylinder having one jaw fixedinternally of it and extending at least from said base member to theupper end of said jaw means, and another jaw rotatably mountedinternally of said hollow cylin der and extending at least from saidbase member to the upper end of said jaw means; said jaws beingpositioned to grip the free end of said band in a vertical plane; meansfor maintaining said cylinder in a substantially fixed axial, butrotatable angular position with respect to said base member; a solidcylinder having upper and lower ends; said other jaw being mounted onthe upper end of said solid cylinder; means for mounting said solidcylinder within said hollow cylinder in a fixed axial, but

rotatable angular position with respect to said hollow cylinder; a firstarm fixed to one of said cylinders in a position to rotate in a secondhorizontal plane spaced from said first horizontal plane; a handle fixedto said first arm with its axis perpendicular to said first plane, but aspaced distance from the axis of said cylinder several times the radiusof said solid cylinder; a second arm fixed to the other of saidcylinders in a position to rotate in a third horizontal plane adjacentsaid first arm; and means operable to fix said arms together, said jawsbeing in their operative clamping positions in engagement with the freeend of said band when said first and second arms are clamped together,said second arm extending radially from the axis of said cylinders adistance several times the radius of said solid cylinder.

2. In apparatus for cooperation with a free end of a sealing band on acan for removing the band to free a lid from one end of the can, thecombination comprising: means in a first plane to seat against the lidof the can; an elongated body having a longitudinal axis extendingsubstantially perpendicularly to said plane, said body including twojaws at least on the side of said seat means adjacent the can to gripthe free end of said band in a second plane perpendicular to said firstplane, at least one of said jaws being movable toward and away from theother; retention means for maintaining said body in a substantiallyfixed axial, but rotatable angular position with respect to said seatmeans along the side of the can; lock means operable to maintain saidjaws in fixed positions relative to each other when they are moved intoclamping engagement with the free end of the band; rotary means forturning said body to peel the band off of the can; and stop means fixedto said seat means for abutment against the periphery of the can tooppose the tendency of the can to rotate about said body and thereby toslide oif of said seat means in response to the rotation of said body;said rotary means including a first arm fixed to one of said jaws in aposition to rotate in a third plane spaced from but parallel to saidfirst plane, and a handle having an axis perpendicular to said firstplane but spaced a distance from the axis of said body several times thediameter of said body, whereby considerable leverage may be obtained torotate said body to peel said band ofi of said can; said lock meansincluding a second arm fixed to the other of said jaws in a position torotate in a fourth plane adjacent said first aim parallel to said firstand third planes, and means operable to fix said first and second armstogether, said jaws being in their operative clamping positions inengagement with the free end of said band when said arms are clampedtogether, said second arm extending radially from the axis of said bodya distance several times the diameter of said body, whereby considerableleverage may be obtained to rotate said one jaw with respect to saidother jaw to clamp the free end of said band therebetween.

3. The invention as defined in claim 2, wherein said means to fix saidfirst and second arms together includes a plate, a threaded stud fixedperpendicularly at one end to said plate and extending through oneofsaid arms, a threaded wing nut on the other end of said stud, the otherof said arms being fixed to a corresponding jaw in a position to travelin between said one of said arms and said plate.

4. The invention as defined in claim 3, wherein said handle has auniform cross-section, and wherein said plate is cut away to conform tothe shape of said handle, and is positioned adjacent said handle, saidhandle thereby keeping said plate and said stud from rotating when saidthreaded wing nut is rotated to clamp said other of said arms betweensaid plate and said one of said arms.

5. In apparatus for cooperation with a free end of a sealing band on acan for removing the band to free a lid from one end of the can, thecombination comprising: an elongated body having a longitudinal axis toex tend along the side of the can; said body including two jaws toextend adjacentthe side of the can to grip the free end of said band, atleast one of said jaws being movable toward and away from the other;retention means for maintaining said jaws in a substantially fixedaxial, but rotatable angular position with respect to each other; afirst arm fixed to said one of said jaws to rotate in a first planesubstantially perpendicular to the axis of said body; a second arm fixedto the other of said jaws in a position to rotate adjacent said firstarm in a plane substantially parallel to said first plane; andreleasable means to lock both of said arms in fixed relative positionswith said jaws in their respective operative positions seizing upon thefree end of said band, whereby said band may be peeled off of the can byrotation of said arms while in their respective locked positions.

6. The invention as defined in claim 5, wherein said body is cylindricalin shape and has a diameter at least as large as one-half inch.

7. The invention as defined in claim 5, wherein said one jaw is acylinder having a longitudinal internal sectoral portion cut away at oneend, said one jaw being provided with a longitudinal slot at said oneend to permit insertion of the free end of said band into said sectoralcut-away portion, said other jaw being a longitudinal member of asectoral cross section smaller in its angular dimension than that ofsaid cut-away portion of said one jaw telescoped in said cylinder torotate in said cut-away portion for gripping action on the free end ofsaid band.

8. The invention as defined in claim 7, wherein said one jaw is providedwith an internal cylindrical wall surface and a band engaging surface toseize on the free end of said band, said longitudinal slot in said onejaw being spaced from said internal surface thereof to permit a crimpingaction on said free end at an edge of said slot; said other jaw having acylindrical wall surface spaced from that of said one jaw to permitextension of the free end and of said band therebetween; said other jawalso having a band engaging surface and a longitudinal edge defined bythe intersection of its band engaging and cylindrical wall surfaces; thefree end of said band thus being positively retained by extendingthrough said slot; around said slot edge; between said cylindricalwalls, around the longitudinal edge of said other jaw, and into saidspace between the band engaging surfaces of said jaws.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

